HE IS MY FATHER
by panther7x
Summary: Dramody. A freak accident throws Clone War Anakin Skywalker into the future. The history of the galaxy could be re-wirtten, but at what cost? Involves Luke and VaderAnakin. Semi-serious, delightful adventure, I promise.
1. It Started With An Innocent Family Trip

DISCLAIMER---- You know the drill. I don't own star wars, I am having fun. Note- Takes place somewhere after the start of the New Rep., but before Zahn's great trilogy. Now, on with the show!  
  
Asher Tall pulled his ship out of lightspeed, and was greeted by millions  
  
of stars glowing in absolute blackness. He plugged some numbers into  
  
the navicomputer, quietly, so as not to disturb the woman who napped  
  
in the co-pilot's seat. She stirred anyway.  
  
"At Corillia all ready?" the woman yawned.  
  
"Nope, just switching directions for the last leg. Besides, these rental ships  
  
aren't as fast as they used to be." Asher responded. His wife, a petite,  
  
redheaded woman, stretched and rose.  
  
"I'll check up on the kids. They're probably bouncing off the walls to be  
  
in a spaceship for the first time." She paused, however, to stare and the  
  
window.  
  
"Gee, Asher, I never knew space was so beautiful."  
  
Asher smiled, making little wrinkles up and down his face. "I'm glad  
  
you've stopped moving long enough to enjoy it, Narie," he commented, "in  
  
more security, too, now that the Empire's gone." His wife's features hardened  
  
at the mention of the Empire.  
  
"Yes, the Empire is gone," she said, "but, will this New Republic really  
  
work? Or will it just replace the Empire?"  
  
Asher had heard this tune before. Unwilling for another debate to wreck  
  
their vacation, he let his wife brood in silence.  
  
"I'll check on the kids," Narie repeated, and disappeared through the  
  
door.  
  
Asher focused, thoughtfully, on the lonely stars. He couldn't blame  
  
Narie for her distrust. Her family had experienced firsthand the corruption of  
  
the Old Republic, and also its collapse into the Empire. Narie had drawn  
  
painful connections between the New Republic and the Empire-including the  
  
fact that Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa were Vader's offspring. Asher  
  
started to sigh-but was interrupted by his wife's scream.  
  
"ASHER! ASHER! Get OVER here!"  
  
The man fell from his seat in shock. What the Force had freaked out  
  
Narie? Heroically dashing into the ship's parlor, Asher found Narie gaping out  
  
the port-window. Cli and Nelan, clad in pajamas, jumped around, begging to be  
  
lifted to the window and see what the commotion was about.  
  
Asher joined his wife.  
  
"Oh, no." Not far from their ship drifted a broken fighter. It was an  
  
older model, but any ship as battered as that one could be called "older." The  
  
windows were cracked, and the engines were black. The hull was a giant piece  
  
of aluminum foil someone had crumpled into a ball. It twisted and floated  
  
aimlessly in space.  
  
"Does this ship have a tractor beam?" Narie asked suddenly. Fear shone  
  
in her eyes.  
  
"No. But it has a tow cable. We should bring this back to Coruscant."  
  
  
  
("Bring what back to Coruscant? What's a tow cable? Can I see? Let me see!"  
  
"Cli- Nelan- let us think!")  
  
Narie shook her head, "Might there still be a pilot in it?"  
  
"If there is, I don't see how he could still be alive," Asher pointed out.  
  
"But if he is still alive, towing it back to Coruscant might kill him," Narie said,  
  
concern fairly dripping from her words. Asher ran a hand through his black  
  
hair.  
  
"I could try to pull that ship closer to the hatch. Then use a vacuum suit to get  
  
the pilot out. It might be hard, though."  
  
"Then I'll do it," Narie said, "I don't care how difficult it is if we can save  
  
somebody's life."  
  
Asher smiled, resigned, at her.  
  
"I'll get the vacuum suit on."  
  
  
  
Half an hour later, Asher pulled the senseless pilot onto a couch. Cli and  
  
Nelan pranced wildly around, peeping eagerly at the young stranger. Narie was  
  
too preoccupied to stop them. She felt the young man's pulse.  
  
"He's alive," the woman's small shoulders relaxed.  
  
"He's a Jedi," Asher stated the obvious. The guy wore Jedi robes, and he had a  
  
lightsaber. And a bad, old-fashioned haircut. Also, he was looked less injured  
  
than he should've been. Some Jedi trick at play there.  
  
"He looks familiar, like someone from a holovid," Narie commented.  
  
"He's kinda cute," Cli piped. Of course, Nelan taunted that she wanted to  
  
marry him.  
  
"He might have an ID on him," Narie thought out loud.  
  
Asher shrugged, and felt through the young Jedi's robes. The young man  
  
groaned.  
  
"Sound's like his coming to," Asher observed, "Narie, will you please get some  
  
water for him?"  
  
Narie turned for the galley. But she never made it back with the water.  
  
"Asher! What's gotten into you?" Narie gasped. He had just dashed from  
  
the parlor, a struggling kid under each arm.  
  
"You look like you've seen a ghost!"  
  
"I think I have," Asher moaned cryptically as he set down the children, "it can't  
  
been possible.it is impossible.but must be.there's no  
  
way.around.it."  
  
Narie anxiously flicked her red-hair from her face. She gripped Asher's  
  
shoulders.  
  
"What's wrong? Is that pilot some kind of criminal?"  
  
Asher, dazed, ignored her, "I need your stun gun, Narie. We can't have him  
  
wake up. We have to get back to Coruscant."  
  
Narie gave him the stun gun, seeing debating would do no good.  
  
"Who is he Asher?!"  
  
He flipped the stun gun to its most powerful setting, "That," he said, gesturing  
  
to the prostrate youth, "is Anakin Skywalker." And he pulled the trigger.  
  
  
  
Well, what do you think? Please hit the little purple button at the bottom of the screen.I don't care if it's a flame. 


	2. This ought to move the plot a long

Luke Skywalker walked through the magnificent Imperial Palace, wishing his headache would leave already. It had come on suddenly in the middle of the night, hitting him as hard as a bulk cruiser. Now, thanks to the Force, it felt just a knife digging into the base of his skull. It dulled his senses and demanded a constant stream of pain repressing Force techniques. However, dulled as his feelings may be, they were not completely numb. Especially when the hallway seethed with anxiety.  
  
Directed at him.  
  
Luke tried to ignore the sidelong glances and murmurs in his wake. The odd- ness of it all made him edgy. This was the Imperial Palace. Come on, he strolled down this hall at least once a day! Despite his head's screaming protests, Luke lightly brushed the mind of a passing businessman, just to see what this tenseness was about.  
  
_My gods, he looks like him._  
  
Like who? Luke mused, now more perplexed. He shook his head, cringed at the throbbing protest, and hurried straight ahead. What was bothering everyone so much? _Should ask Leia about it, he thought, if my head doesn't kill me before I see her._ At the corner of his vision, Luke noticed an aide hurrying up to him.  
  
"Jedi Skywalker," she said, her voice level, but Luke easily sensed her agitation. 

"Yes?" 

"President Mon Mothma requests your presence at a meeting in the her office." 

Luke blinked. 

"Right away?" 

The aid nodded her, black hair jumping. 

"I can be there," he responded, guessing the meeting would explain the uneasiness oozing around the palace.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Ouch,"

Anakin Skywalker moaned as his came to. Not fully conscious, he absently fell of the bed. 

"Ohh..." he moaned again from the floor. 

Anakin shook his head, clearing it of cobwebs, and forced heavy eyelids open. Stunned stupid, he stared at the poofy white carpet for several seconds. Then, he gripped the rug. When the world stopped spinning, he carefully stood up. Blue eyes scanned the room distrustfully. 

"Where the heck am I?" 

He'd woken up in some type of suite. Some type of really badly decorated suite. The white walls and floor, high ceiling and the sleek furniture reminded him of the _Retro's__ Years soap opera set. There was also a really big window. Filled with an unnamable dread, the Jedi padawan approached it and stared out. _

Early morning Coruscant greeted him. Colossal buildings, swarms of ships, nothing natural to be seen----defiantly Coruscant. But it couldn't be. Anakin groaned in frustration and his dread mounted. It was all so familiar but it was just so wrong. With a deep inhale, Anakin forced himself to be calm. He straightened up, and stretched out with the Force. 

Whenever he was on Coruscant, he could always sense the Jedi Temple. Such a concentration of Jedi created a strong mark on the Force. When he found the Temple, maybe he could figure out what part of Coruscant he had mysteriously been transported to. 

nothing.

nothing.

nothing. 

Anakin almost panicked. He couldn't feel the Temple! The breath he had been holding rushed out like a popped balloon. Anakin felt again, flailing with his mind the same way you would flail for a chair that had been pulled from under you. It couldn't be his senses at fault-_he was the _Chosen___ One!-but the Temple wasn't out there. _

"Then this just isn't Coruscant, " Anakin figured out loud, but felt little truth in the words. Anakin opened his eyes, and studied the skyline a little more. Fighting the nagging sensation that he should recognize them, Anakin turned from the creepy scenery. 

He saw the suit had two doors. One, leading to a 'fresher, the other hopefully leading to the exit. Anakin made a beeline for the latter. Not surprisingly, it was locked. 

"Sith," he muttered anyway. Well, at least any questions about his status (guest/prisoner) were answered. 

"Sith," he muttered again. They'd taken his lightsaber. The new one made to replace the other smashed in the Geonosis factory. He could hear Obi-Wan's reprimanding voice right now... 

Suddenly sore, he flopped back onto the white bed, and tried to think. How'd they get him? What had happened? Slowly, memories came back.  
  
....late at night, slinking out of the Temple in a "borrowed" ship.... _Why was I doing that?_ Anakin struggled to remember more.  
  
....something was with him. Something important....  
  
Anakin fitted several stray memories together  
  
....going to Naboo..

Yes, to see Padme. 

Because she…

She..  
  
....With a rush it all came back. Anakin jerked up like he'd been bitten. 

"No, not Padme," Anakin gripped the sheets like a wanted to tear them. 

He'd failed Padme, like he'd failed his mother. Again, he hadn't been strong enough. A yell of frustration threatened to burst forth. Padme needed his help and he went and got captured by...by.. Anakin steamed. 

He had to get out of here. Not just for his sake, but for his wife's. 

With his robe's sleeve Anakin wiped a few stray tears away. He stalked to the door and studied the lock. Heck, he was the Chosen One-a single lock wasn't going to hold him. Besides, he had some genius at mechanics. After going over the lock a couple times, Anakin managed a smile. _Piece of cake._ He'd seen locks of this sort before-way less sophisticated than the one before him but he could figure it out. With some time, (which he had a lot of just then) maybe a battery from that lamp, and a thin screw that must be somewhere in the room, he'd be out of here. Anakin smiled from cold satisfaction. Boy, were his captors in for a surprise.  
  



	3. evil Mon Mothma! Evil!

####Yeah! I finally got the next chapter written! I want to say thanks to everybody who wrote reviews. Rainbow, you are really sweet. Any readers--- PLEASE offer suggestions! There is a lot you can do with this story and I'm sort of making it up as I go along. So, suggestions, please!!!!! ########  
  
  
  
  
  
The door to Mon Mothma's spacious office swished open. Luke stepped in, and  
  
was greeted by the stressed faces of the New Republic's most powerful  
  
individuals. Come to think of it, Luke had never seen them when they weren't  
  
stressed. He privately wondered if this was just another "let's ask the Jedi's  
  
advice for old time's sake" meeting, until he saw Leia.  
  
She looked awful. Pale, exhausted and she didn't meet Luke's gaze.  
  
All that took less than a second and Luke took his seat at the large wood  
  
desk. Mon Mothma started talking almost before the Jedi was seated.  
  
"Have you been watching the holovision lately?" she demanded.  
  
Luke wondered at her brusqueness.  
  
"Usually," he said, "but not this morning."  
  
Madine frowned behind his trimmed beard; "You're missing the story of the  
  
century."  
  
Luke felt Leia cringe.  
  
"If I may, Mothma?" Madine gestured to a holovid against the wall. Dread almost  
  
deadened Luke's headache. Madine flicked on the screen, then stood towards  
  
the side, back straight, shoulders tense, hands clasped behind back. Luke  
  
watched the holovid, and most people in the room watched for his reaction.  
  
Jeter Pennings, the distinguished CNN (Coruscant News Network)  
  
reporter, appeared.  
  
".....covering the shocking events unfolding since last night."  
  
The image cut to a photo from an ID card---one of those unflattering, small  
  
pictures that make you look ten times nastier than you do in real life. The photo  
  
was of a young man, with a long, blonde braid behind one ear. His deep blue  
  
eyes looked hauntingly familiar.  
  
**Where have I seen those eyes befo----***  
  
Luke interrupted his half-formed thought. Three years ago-------Second Death  
  
Star---.  
  
It took a split-second for all that to happen. Jeter Pennings spoke out words that  
  
cut Luke to the soul.  
  
"Anakin Skywalker, the man who will become Darth Vader, has incomprehensibly  
  
time traveled...."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Every swear word Han had ever used came to mind.  
  
  
  
  
  
His father. His father! Here. The year whatever---Luke really couldn't think.  
  
Classic can of worms. His father. Leia's father. Where? Being held in some cell?  
  
Did they tell Anakin Skywalker he was going to become a.. but yet, under his  
  
steadily rising panic, Luke felt his curiosity twinge. So that was what his father  
  
had looked like. That boyish, tanned face couldn't have been hidden under a  
  
mask for twenty----HECK IT HAD NEVER BEEN!!!!!!!! HE WAS NOW OLDER  
  
THAN HIS FATHER!!!!!!!!!  
  
Luke realized he had stood. Seeking that Jedi calm which had abandoned him,  
  
he turned towards Mon Mothma.  
  
"Last night, a family on vacation came across his broken ship. They found an ID  
  
identifying him as Anakin Skywalker," she explained coldly.  
  
Luke sat down, calming himself, "where is he now?"  
  
Mothma clenched her hands on top of her desk. "Being held in a secure suite."  
  
Ray Drist, an Ali-chyme from Laris, spoke from across Luke, "Jedi Skywalker, the  
  
council has decided that you and Senator Organa must not, under any  
  
circumstances, meet with him."  
  
Luke frowned, but Mon Motham talked on.  
  
  
  
"My sources tell me Anakin Skywalker only regained consciousness a few  
  
moments ago," she continued, "and he will be told that he's time traveled.  
  
However, his contacts will be limited to a few pre approved individuals."  
  
Madine hadn't shifted from his military posture by the holovid, "the Council has  
  
also decided that you and Senator Organa will avoid discussing this issue with  
  
the media, due to your personal connections. Until we have decided what to do  
  
with Anakin Skywalker."  
  
Luke disliked Madine tone, "and what will you do, execute him?"  
  
Luke gazed around the table, searching the councilors' faces.  
  
"You can't just kill someone who hasn't done anything wrong."  
  
He stopped at Leia, felt her troubled presence.  
  
A heavy-set human growled, "But, we know what his going to become. Now, we  
  
have the opportunity to stop the most ruthless killer from ever taking power."  
  
Luke shook his head in frustration. Anakin Skywalker had been a good man-  
  
wait he is a good man--- and certainly could not be held accountable for crimes  
  
he hadn't (yet) committed. You can't just murder an innocent man, even if it could  
  
stop the deaths of countless others. The ends do not justify the means. Luke  
  
studied the feelings flying around the office, and doubted he could convince  
  
them. Well, there was another point.  
  
  
  
"So, if you kill him, you could created a paradox of some sort. Our reality  
  
suddenly wouldn't exist."  
  
  
  
Mothma held up a hand, "We have taken that into account. But, from what you  
  
had told us, Anakin Skywalker turns and becomes Darth Vader."  
  
"And, we don't know when or how he's going to turn," Ray Drist added, blinking  
  
his white eyes, "the man is a ticking time-bomb. The last thing we need is Darth  
  
Vader revisited."  
  
"Perhaps," Luke tried again, "we could prevent his turning."  
  
"How," Madine growled, "would you do that?"  
  
Mon Mothma perceived the escalating conflict. She broke in with the air of a ref.  
  
separating two unruly wrestlers.  
  
"That will too be taken into consideration. However, Anakin Skywalker must learn  
  
as little as possible about how things are in the 'future.' We can only imagine  
  
what disasters knowledge like that creates."  
  
Anakin sat back with a sigh of satisfaction. It had taken longer than he's wanted,  
  
but the lock was opened.  
  
//These guys are really idiots,// he couldn't help thinking, //well, they should've  
  
been smart enough to post a guard or two....//  
  
Anakin felt the nervous mind of a guard in the hall. It was a little insulting, only  
  
one guard. Then, he sensed the presence of a second man, a little farther away  
  
from the first.  
  
Two guards. Anakin stood up, pulled on his brown robe. Now or never.  
  
Swish....went the door.  
  
Anakin popped out of the room, charging towards the first guard. The man, for a  
  
slow second, stared at the Jedi as though a giant spider had just come through  
  
the door. Then he started firing.  
  
Still coming at the man, Anakin dodged the blaster bolts. The red rays embedded  
  
themselves in the previously immaculate white walls. With the Force, he yanked  
  
the blaster from the guard's grip.  
  
The man, suddenly weapon-less, turned and fled down the hall. To his chagrin,  
  
Anakin noticed him pull out a comlink. With a leap, Anakin tackled the man, and  
  
the comlink sailed through the air.  
  
  
  
The guard struggled, swearing incoherently. Anakin knocked him unconscious  
  
with the butt of the blaster.  
  
"Kendiss, do you copy? Kendiss, do you copy?" The comlink screamed. Anakin  
  
slid over to it.  
  
  
  
Feeling like someone with nothing to lose, Anakin picked it up. He told it, "hi. This  
  
is Kendiss. Situation normal."  
  
"What happened?" The voice from the other end demanded.  
  
'I, uh," Anankin looked around the hallway, seeking inspiration. He saw and felt  
  
the second guard, coming at him, blaster blazing.  
  
Anakin dropping the squawking comlink, and flipped into the air..  
  
#######################################################  
  
In her empty office, Mon Mothma was secretly munching on chocolates when the  
  
call came.  
  
  
  
"President Mothma," a hologram had risen from her desk. Mothma guiltily hid the  
  
chocolate box.  
  
"What is it?" she demanded.  
  
"It appears that Anakin Skywalker has escaped from his suite. He has injured two  
  
guards, six troopers and killed a man."  
  
Mothma groaned. Not in the future one day and he had already managed to kill  
  
someone. And Luke Skywalker dared to suggest that his father might stay  
  
uncorrupted?  
  
"Send another squad after him. Form a perimeter."  
  
Luke's headache had all but vanished, mercifully.  
  
It let him sense something else, unfortunately.  
  
"Blast...."  
  
Anakin decided that they were getting serious.  
  
Right now, he was pinned behind a pillar in some great corridor. Blaster bolts  
  
flew around him, breaking the huge windows, burning plants, shattering priceless  
  
antiques.  
  
  
  
The squad was closing in. At a pillar down from Anakin's, a man started taking  
  
shots from that new angle. Anakin ducked, flattened himself against the pillar,  
  
and fired a few blasts at the man. One found its mark, and the squad member fell  
  
flat.  
  
The Jedi's luck wouldn't hold out, however. Already, Anakin could sense his  
  
doom approaching.  
  
He quickly fired at another sharpshooter who had come too close for comfort.  
  
There was no way out...unless.  
  
  
  
Anakin studied the large window a few meters down from him. It had a capacious  
  
hole in it, a hole a man could easily jump through.  
  
"Sorry, guys," Anakin shouted as he sprinted towards the window and leapt  
  
through it.  
  
"President Mothma," gasped the anxious hologram, "he has broken through our  
  
perimeter. He is now on level 34. We're awaiting instructions."  
  
Mothma groaned and felt like banging her head against the wall. There was one  
  
last option, one that she loathed to even consider. But, it was better than sending  
  
more troops to their death.  
  
  
  
After all, the only way to stop an escaping Jedi was by using another Jedi.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N--------O.K! Forgive me, I'm not a very good action writer, and it's very late. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!! What should happen? Will Luke help his father escape? Or help keep him in the Palace? I promise Han and Leia action (sooner or later). 


	4. Attack of the Short Chapters

A/N- Well, summer's over and it's back to the daily grind. If you thought I couldn't write any slower, THINK AGAIN! I really, really wanted to get another chapter out before the hectic schedule begins. So, that's why this chapter is so short.  
  
And thank you for all the reviews!! Hey, I'm not getting paid for this. I must be rewarded somehow for providing entertainment!  
  
From a shadowed recess, Anakin watched a few guards jog pass and down the  
  
marble hall. He waited until their footsteps faded before stepping out into the next  
  
room. In one hand, he held his lightsaber. He'd found it in the room he'd just left.  
  
(A/N-impossible coincidence, I know, I know. Humor me people.) Anakin  
  
loved the feeling of its' cold metal against his skin.  
  
//They can take me when I'm senseless in a broken ship,// he thought smugly,  
  
//let's see if they can when I've got my saber.//  
  
Unfortunately, Anakin had become rather lost. The halls were familiar, but oddly  
  
distorted. Their light switches, door panels, etc. were all more sophisticated than  
  
those he was used to. If the blaster burns hadn't hurt so much, Anakin could  
  
have sworn he was in a very messed-up dream.  
  
So, for the third time, he'd wound up at a dead end.  
  
The young Jedi looked about the new room, and saw no new door.  
  
"Sith."  
  
He seriously felt like carving a door into that blank wall over there.  
  
Without warning, a jolt shook Anakin's mind. He grabbed his lightsaber, thumbed  
  
on the humming blade, and whirled around in one move.  
  
There was another Force-user there, at the room's entrance. He was shorter  
  
than Anakin, perhaps a little older than him as well, and wore simple black robes.  
  
Anakin stalled his attack. The stranger had a lightsaber, but he wasn't holding it.  
  
"It's all right," said the older Jedi reassuringly, "I'm not here to fight you."  
  
Funny, this strange Jedi reminded Anakin of Padme. He mentally shook his  
  
head; that was a random comparison.  
  
"So, are you gonna talk me back into my cell? Is that it?"  
  
"No, it's not like that." the shorter Jedi said hurriedly, taking a tentative step  
  
forward.  
  
Anakin held his lightsaber ready, and tried to probe the Jedi in black's mind.  
  
Other than some twinges of sincerity, Anakin couldn't sense anything. The other  
  
kept up very good mind shields.  
  
"Who are you?" Anakin demanded, "are you trying to keep me prisoner?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke gulped. He couldn't exactly say, "No. Anakin, I am your son." That would  
  
cause lots of questions he didn't want to answer just then.  
  
So, he spat out the first thing that came to mind, "Uh, my name is Luke Lars."  
  
He cringed as he realized how crony that sounded.  
  
Anakin, (somehow, Luke couldn't yet think of him as father), repeated the name.  
  
"Luke Lars.from Tatooine, huh?" he said in a low voice, slurring the words as  
  
only a teenager could do.  
  
"Yes," Luke replied, hoping to gain his father's trust.  
  
"Ummm. I haven't seen you around the Temple, but there's no way you're a  
  
Sith," Anakin was slowly-----far to slowly for Luke's taste-------slowly lowering the  
  
lightsaber blade.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
Luke gulped, and tried to squelch his nervousness. For a moment, he had  
  
doubts. What dreadful destiny lead from this choice? From deep inside him,  
  
Luke's reckless nature flared.  
  
"Anakin, " he began, "I can't explain everything now. There are troops rushing  
  
here at this second. But, I can get you out of here and to a ship if you can trust  
  
me," Luke took another step towards Anakin. They were now only a few feet  
  
apart. "Well?"  
  
Anakin turned off the lightsaber.  
  
"Lead the way, Luke."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N---yes, now I do have a faint idea for a plot. Slowly but surely, homework permitting, chapter five will be up! 


	5. The Short Chapters Strike Back

Well, I finally wrote up another page. No, the plot does not move forward, in case you were wondering. Basically, I need two things to turn out another chapter: 1. Time, and 2. Creativity. Rarely do the two coincide.  
  
But anyway, disclaimers are in default chapter.  
  
Oh, just say anything in reviews. This story is NOT going to get any better unless I get some rounded criticism.  
  
We all want stories to get better. At least, I hope we do.  
  
Okay, enough of my monologue. On with the show!  
  
  
  
The hordes of guards lifted their blasters, but stopped in confusion. They were  
  
rather stunned to see father and son, now approximately the same age, sprinting  
  
across the halls towards the nearest platform. Was Jedi Skywalker leading Darth  
  
Vader out of the palace? Or was this just part of an elaborate plan to recapture  
  
the Sith?  
  
At any rate, the Skywalkers had disappeared into the farther passageway  
  
by the time the guards regained mobility.  
  
"Should we pursue them, captain?" asked a younger, confused trooper.  
  
The captain hesitated, "Yes," he finally drew out, "but only to keep them in  
  
range."  
  
"Yes sir," the troopers acknowledged in one voice. They gathered themselves  
  
and jogged after the Jedi, and the hall vibrated with their footfalls.  
  
"President Mothma, President Mothma," the captain told his comlink, "we have a  
  
problem."  
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
  
  
Those were the last words Mothma wanted to hear.  
  
"Explain yourself, captain." She chiseled out those icy syllables around clenched  
  
teeth.  
  
"Is there, by any chance, a plan to retake the prisoner in which, um, Luke  
  
Skywalker leads him towards East Platform 14?"  
  
"Do you mean Jedi Skywalker is leading Anakin Skywalker from the palace!"  
  
Mothma rumbled, her voice rising to a thunderous crescendo.  
  
The captain coughed, "Um, ah, yes ma'am."  
  
Mothma struggled to control her rage, which was now like a rabid wookie  
  
thrashing inside her. Luke Skywalker, committing treason? Had the little bastard  
  
finally followed his father's path? Mothma mused cynically that Madine had been  
  
right all along.  
  
But, it was possible Vader was exercising some mind control over Luke. Perhaps  
  
the young Jedi was being held hostage?  
  
Mothma decided that was impossible. Why should Luke fall prey to Vader now,  
  
when he had defeated him three years ago?  
  
"Captain, at all costs you must retake Vader. If Luke Skywalker hinders  
  
you.take appropriate action." The captain evidently understood.  
  
"Yes ma'am." The comm clicked off.  
  
Mothma slumped back into her cushioned chair. Her aging hands fell uselessly  
  
on the armrests.  
  
Angrily, she stared at a comm button. It was Madine's direct line.  
  
Rallying her resolve, Mothma slammed a fist down on it.  
  
"General."  
  
"Yes, President Mothma?" came the reply along with static.  
  
"Send up a general warning, alert the fleet," her voice caught. She had never  
  
dreamed something like this could ever happen, "and put up a warrant for Luke  
  
Skywalker's arrest."  
  
  
  
Yup, I know, short. Just keep checking up every, oh, three weeks or so.  
  
Okay, please hit that little button marked reviews.  
  
I'm resorting to bribery. If you give me a review of substance, I'll read one of your stories and write a review one for you. (It could take some time, though, but I'll do it eventually). 


	6. The Return of the Author

Hello, I'm back! Thanks to all of you who wrote reviews.  
  
Many of you said that Mon Mothma's acting narrow-minded and evil.  
  
Yes, she is being rather one-dimensional.  
  
But the thing is, this is a faintly humorous, quasi-serious fic.  
  
I'm not a good enough writer to be taking it too seriously.  
  
However, I am trying to write the most entertaining, gripping story I can; one of those mindlessly fun things.  
  
Besides, it takes long enough to get these updates out.  
  
So, goodbye, until the next chapter  
  
  
  
Luke and Anakin were moving down a corridor, looking for danger. A  
  
tremor rippled through the Force.  
  
Luke stopped.  
  
"I feel it too," Anakin said in a low tone. There was a troop rapidly  
  
approaching from the far end.  
  
Luke sent a quick glance back. "There's another coming from behind."  
  
The two glanced around tensely. In just a few moments, they would be fired upon  
  
from both in front and behind. Jedi were Jedi, with all the implied reflexes and  
  
powers. However, they were not infallible.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of the hallway," Anakin moved to a door.  
  
Seeing no other alternative, Luke followed, but he knew that would be no  
  
good. The doors here lead only to conference rooms. But Luke figured it was  
  
better than playing targets in the hall.  
  
The duo slid into the room and the door closed behind them with a muffled  
  
thump.  
  
"Lights," Luke said, and Anakin watched in amazement as the room was  
  
illuminated. It was an older meeting chamber, completely bare and with a large  
  
spot on the carpet. Old, forgotten artwork clung to yellow walls.  
  
And, absolutely no cover or place to hide.  
  
Luke wondered if the troops would just pass by, but his hope was cruelly  
  
squished.  
  
He sensed the two groups slowly approaching, before long he could hear their  
  
metallic boots clanging on the marble hallway. Stopping, then starting, then  
  
stopping.  
  
They were checking the rooms.  
  
Luke's throat went as dry. He watched the door, the door that would come flying  
  
open any second. For one of those rare moments in his life, Luke felt helpless.  
  
He glared almost accusingly at Anakin, who had caused all this trouble.  
  
However, the room held Anakin spellbound. The taller Jedi stood  
  
transfixed, gaping; little beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He was  
  
baffled, like someone had told him Banthas were man-eating predators. Luke  
  
watched him, and felt recognition and confusion radiating from him.  
  
"I know this place," Anakin murmured, dreamily.  
  
"Hey," Luke sought his attention, "listen. Anakin!"  
  
Anakin finally turned towards Luke, "I know this room. Or, I used to.." he said,  
  
suspicion mounting in his voice.  
  
The pounding footsteps got louder.  
  
"Even if I wanted to tell you we don't have time," Luke explained, "they're  
  
checking the rooms."  
  
Anakin gave Luke a curious look, "but we're safe."  
  
Luke felt his mind go blank. Was, wait, is his father an idiot?  
  
Anakin, now completely recovered from his bewilderment, gave Luke a  
  
sneaky grin. He crossed the room confidently-almost cockily-to one of those  
  
vulgar, antique portraits.  
  
Luke, horrified, heard, and sensed, the guards nearing their door.  
  
Facing the entrance, Luke walked backwards to Anakin, lightsaber ready  
  
for action. But, he watched Anakin from the corner of his eye. Anakin gripped the  
  
portrait in something like a bear hug. Then he yanked. The picture projected from  
  
the wall, and Luke noticed that it was attached to a thick, fat metal block. On that  
  
block was a keypad. It obviously hadn't been used for some time, as it was  
  
covered with dust. Nevertheless, Anakin rapidly pounded in a code.  
  
The heavy tread of the troops increased.  
  
"They're coming. Better wrap it up," Luke advised, alternating between  
  
watching the door and Anakin.  
  
Anakin grinned  
  
"I've got it." He stepped back from the keypad. The portrait automatically  
  
sank back into the wall. Luke was felling rather cynical until a piece of the floor  
  
slid away.  
  
"A trap door," Luke gaped, "how the-"  
  
//There's a passage. How the Sith is there a secret passage? How come  
  
nobody said anything about passages in the palace?//  
  
Anakin caught on to Luke's expression.  
  
"You honestly didn't know about it?" he said incredulously.  
  
Luke might've said something.  
  
But metallic footsteps halted in front of their door.  
  
"Well, no use waiting," he murmured. The hole was black like space, but  
  
Luke didn't give it a thought. He jumped in, Anakin followed, and the trap door  
  
slid shut in seconds. It was tar black, reminding Luke of something.  
  
"Oh, sith," Luke spat, "I forgot to turn off the lights!"  
  
"Use the Force to hit the switch," Anakin quickly recommended. "Its voice activated-get that thing open now!"  
  
Anakin pounded on the ceiling. The trap door obediently slid open. Luke tilted his head back and called, "off!"  
  
The captain opened yet another door.  
  
"Lights," he ordered, and the room was illuminated. It was an old, bare  
  
conference room. Just like the others, except it had ugly old pictures on the wall.  
  
He though he saw a something move on the floor though. Slide, almost. Three  
  
soldiers covered him, and the captain stepped into the room and knelt by where  
  
he thought he saw the black thing move on the floor.  
  
He poked around the carpet. He felt his trooper's curious gazes. Finding nothing,  
  
he stood back up and made for the door.  
  
"Move on, they're not here."  
  
  
  
The two Jedi remained still as death. Above their heads, the troopers  
  
passed through the room. They left after a few heartbeats, apparently finding  
  
nothing.  
  
The passageway was pitch black. Luke flipped on his lightsaber, and its  
  
blade cast a surreal green light. Anakin did the same. The sight of those two  
  
glowing blades threw Luke off balance. It looked too much like Cloud City. He  
  
flexed his right hand, the synthetic, mechanical fingers tightening on the blade.  
  
//He will do that to you one day,// a dark thought whispered. Luke felt odd  
  
sensations cross his soul, and he looked into his father's eyes. His eyes. They  
  
gazed back piercingly.  
  
"Now, Luke," he began, "We have some time, so why don't you tell me  
  
who you are, who they are, where the rest of the Jedi are, and what the Sith  
  
happened to Coruscant. For starters."  
  
Luke shook his head slowly, "you will not believe it."  
  
"Just tell me, all right? I'll know whether or not you're telling the truth." Luke  
  
sighed. Lying, however, would be useless and it was time his father knew.  
  
But, how much of "the truth" should he tell Anakin?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Leia went to the kitchenette to fix herself a drink. She had nearly escaped  
  
the catatonic state that she'd fallen into when 'the news' was brought to her. Now  
  
she was fuming. Sure, she'd almost adjusted to the fact that Darth Vader was her  
  
biological father. As long as nobody bothered her about it, she'd managed to go  
  
on like the princess she was. Now, the galaxy focused on Darth Vader, the time-  
  
traveler. Leia felt as though she was walking under a giant neon sign that read  
  
"THIS IS HIS DAUGHTER." She could only guess how Luke was coping.  
  
But right now, all she wanted was to lie quiet for a few days. Mon must've  
  
been a mind reader; she gave Leia the week off.  
  
The petite princess wandered to the living room, mug in hand, and flopped  
  
onto the soft couch. She nearly turned on the holovid, but stopped herself just in  
  
time. The last thing she needed was a bunch of news stations flaunting Anakin  
  
Skywalker's picture. Leia sank deeper into the white couch, her hair flowing  
  
around her shoulders, and decided that if she could just rest for a......  
  
The door-chime rang. Leia's eyes popped open. Tired and irritated, Leia growled  
  
and tried to ignore it. The door-chime continued relentlessly. When her comlink  
  
started buzzing, Leia snatched it up and barked, "what do you want?!"  
  
"Whoa, Princess, it's me," said the voice at the other end.  
  
"Oh, Han," Leia sighed, a little relieved.  
  
Han continued, "something's come up. So, if you could.."  
  
"Oh, sorry. Hang on a moment," Leia responded and flipped the comm off.  
  
She opened the door to find Han waiting.  
  
"Hey, Leia," he said cautiously, worriedly studying her.  
  
"Can you come in?"  
  
Han didn't move.  
  
"Um, Leia, Luke's in trouble again." 


	7. Hide and Seek

**Hello! I bet you thought I'd died or something. Well, I start off every chapter with a really lame excuse as to why it took so long. This chapter will be no different. I tend to worry about Mrs. Gable's biology "exams" than about Anakin's predicament. Plus, I am an obsessive creature, and I either obsess or don't write. **

**Sorry. I'm boring you to death, aren't I?  **

Leia felt as though the Force has taken her fine little world and deliberately flipped it up-side down. 

She gazed at Mon Mothma, the woman had been sadly explaining that Luke Skywalker was now a criminal. Unwelcome surprises were routine in Leia's life, but this was simply devastating. Luke, a _criminal_? 

Han, sitting beside her, maintained supportive silence. Leia felt his hand open for hers. She grasped it, and clenched it like it was her only link to reality. 

"……so I regret that we are forced to use whatever means to regain control of the situation." Mon's voice was covered in a layer of helplessness. But, Leia caught the slight, tight upturning of the lips. Ever since Palpatine, Vader, and a host of other bad apples, Mon had never trusted Force-users. 

"Mothma, Luke's behavior_ iscompletely unacceptable," Leia began, "but we can't just assume that he's gone bad. Perhaps Vader is using some sort of mind-control, but whatever the reason, Luke is devoted to the Republic. He would never intend to harm it." She forced herself to debate rationally. But the hurricane of anger and fear and a dozen other things churned and boiled inside her. She knew they would all come out in thunderous fury. _

Mothma shook her head, "I don't know if we can risk it. But Skywalker must be stopped somehow. If Vader manages to get loose it would undermine all we've tried to build."

"But to hurt Luke?" Han suddenly spoke, and leaned forward. "That's crazy. And just think of how that would sound- shooting a hero of the rebellion. Not like that stable government the people were promised." 

"It would be better, then, to allow them to escape?" Mothma bristled. Han tried to say something but she plowed on, "To simply smile and look the other way? How would that sound, Solo? We allowed the Empire's second-hand man to walk out of the palace. No, the galaxy's safety must be maintained."

Leia shut her eyes and raised her hand to her forward. 

"Mon," she moaned, appealing to their friendship, "Mon, please. Luke's my brother, my _twin. Give me time to talk some sense into him."_

Mon Mothma blinked. "I'm not sure it is possible. Luke Skywalker is famous for his stubbornness."

Leia slowly felt her bitterness creep up. "Mon. _I am not_ going to sit around to watch Luke get hurt. But _I am_ going to reach him whether I have your approval or not."

Mothma and Leia locked gazes in a battle of will. Finally, Mon Mothma let out one long sigh. "There is nothing, within reason, I can do to stop you." 

"Darn right," Han responded. The twosome gave Mothma a slight bow before exiting in a hurry. The door sliced through the air and clinked shut, leaving Mothma alone in the big office. 

She counted a few seconds. Then she pushed an intercom. 

"Madine here," a voice croaked in the static. 

"Crix," Mothma ordered in a subdued tone, "Have Senator Organa and Solo monitored. I want their general location known at all time. Perhaps they can lead us to Vader and his confused son."

"That was way too easy, Princess," Han commented as they marched down the passage, "nowadays everybody has an agenda."

"That's right," Leia acknowledged. She lowered her voice, "they're trying to find Luke, right?"

"Yeah," Han looked grim, "Or at least Mon is. Ever since Endor she's been acting like a Sabacc player whose won too many games."

 Leia slowed her pace and took in a breath. "I'm going to try to contact Luke." 

"Good luck,' Han said. Leia focused down the hallway. Her eyes focused on the end of the hall. In reality, her gazed traveled far beyond the hall into infinity, while she was only looking into herself. 

"So let me get this straight," Anakin said for about the fifth time, "I've gone into the future, about twenty or more years. There's been a horrible war in that time. A bunch of Jedi turned Sith during the war. They're afraid I may be one of those Jedi. Right?"

"Right," Luke confimed, uttering one of the galaxy's biggest understatements. 

The twosome were still in that hidden passageway inside the palace. It was oily dark except for the humming glow of the lightsabers. Luke oddly noticed what funny shadows the lights threw. 

"And you aren't telling me anything more because you're afraid it might screw up the past with my knowledge of the future."

"Right," Luke said again. After a lot of gentle explaining, Anakin had adjusted to his situation. 

"Do you have any idea how you got here?" Luke asked.

"I don't have _an idea," Anakin countered darkly, "I know. It was my ship." _

Jedi insight or no Jedi insight, Luke was completely confused. "Your ship? You were found in a piece of drifting junk, not a ship." Anakin didn't move, but Luke felt a shift in his attitude. 

"No, no, it's not the ship itself. Its……it's……" He paused, and seemed to gather his resolve, as if wondering how to explain something. "Have you heard of the Manasi Laris?"

Luke felt a warning bell go off in the back of his mind. "Vaguely."

Anakin snorted cynically and turned away from Luke. 

"Ok, the Force is energy, it thrives of life. Well, the Manasi Laris is this rare plant. Its like a cross between a fly trap and a rose. It lives only one season out of a hundred. It's a seed the rest of the time. But, when its in bloom, its just soaking in life. Like it was living hundreds of years at once. The Force around it is just stronger. More concentrated around it."

"A Jedi could be more powerful using less energy." Luke's blue eyes, deep in wonder, focused on Anakin's profile. It sounded like a cheap infomercial, "The Manasi Laris will make you more powerful using less energy. Guaranteed or your money back!" The comparison only sickened Luke the more. Sharp blue eyes, bathed in lightsaber glow, fired back at Luke. Anakin looked almost guilty. 

"I stole it. I stole it from the temple. 'Why' doesn't matter," He shouted, sensing Luke's question, " 'why' doesn't matter-it's too late. I stole it-don't ask how, that would take too long. But that Laris is in my ship, I know it must've caused the Force to rip time. I need to get the Laris back!" Anakin was raising his voice dangerously high.         

Luke found this sudden emotion unnerving. He doubted his wisdom for a moment. Could the council be right? Was his father just a ticking time bomb, set to explode into the Dark Side? 

Anakin's feelings radiated, for a moment he had no shields.  Luke read those feelings. No, there was more to Anakin than it seemed. He wanted power; the power the Manasi Laris could give him. But it wasn't power for its own sake. Wait, there was something else……Anakin didn't want that power for himself! He wanted power for some other reason. Luke felt sweet relief flood him. No, his father wasn't gone. Just confused. He didn't have the dark selfishness most Sith carried. Abruptly, Luke felt his father through up shields again. Anakin must've realized he was broadcasting his emotions. 

"Luke," he said quieter, "do you know where my ship is?" 

Young Skywalker sighed, "I heard it was in heavy security. That mean's in a facility on the other side of Coruscant."

Anakin smiled, "That's not to bad. We'll just get us a ship. Are you a good pilot, Lars?"

Luke couldn't help saying it ran in the family. "But it won't be easy."

"Come on, Luke, we're Jedi. Now, this tunnel goes somewhere," he said waving his lightsaber into the dark, "I can find my way to a hanger through these passages." 

The two Jedi started off. Luke wasn't blind to Anakin's moodiness. 

_//Still, he's good. That's what matters now.//_

That's when Luke felt a familiar brush on his mind.

//_Luke?//_

_//Leia!//_

_//Who's this?// _Came a third mind. Anakin. Luke belatedly remembered Leia's mind shields were still weak. And it was too late for Luke to put up his own without Anakin getting upset. 

_//I'm Leia. Wait, this can't be……//_

_//Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi time-traveler.//_

Leia's disgust would break their connection unless Luke did something fast.

_//Leia, we're going to get him home. Its for the best.// _Luke hoped that didn't sound too lame. 

_//Ma'am, as soon as I get to my ship I'll be gone. I know how to get home.// _Anakin broke in. There was a very long pause. Then Leia was gone. 

"Han, this is crazy!!" Leia suddenly belted. Han jumped. 

"Whoa, easy. What happened?" Leia started walking faster in her anger, her feet _clip-clapping on the marble floor. Han did his best to stay meek. There was no telling what Leia might do in a situation like this. _

"I reached Luke. But who was eavesdropping? Him!" she fumed, "Now they want my help to get him to his ship, which means helping him steal a ship so he can get to his ship." Leia nearly growled this last part. 

"Shh, your highness," Han gently cautioned, "Mon's up to something. _She _might be the one eavesdropping now."

Leia sighed tiredly. "Oh Han, what now? I don't want Luke to get hurt but he's as stubborn as a Bantha. And I don't want to help him free this man." 

Han furrowed his brow, then brightened as an idea struck him. 

"Ok, so how's this. Mon's assuming where we go Luke and Anakin are. So, we go where they aren't. She sends the troops to our locale as Luke and your old man go the other way. See, Luke's not getting hurt and you're really not _helping _him." 

It was so simple an idiot could've thought it up. **(*A/N- yeah, I know. No sarcasm, you!*)**

Leia focused for a second time--to tell Luke to head to bay C59 while she and Han went to bay L22. 

 "That's the plan?" Anakin shook his head as they broke contact with Leia.

"So it's simple-but simple plans are the hardest to mess up," Luke declared confidently. 

"Well, yeah. It sounds like fun in a stupid way." 

Luke smiled and shifted his lightsaber. "So, which way to bay C59?" 

"I have these passages memorized, Lars," Anakin said confidently as he marched on, "besides, the Force'll guide us."

Mothma had stealthily opened her little box of comfort food when the com rang. Guiltily hiding the chocolates, she pushed the answer button.

"Mothma, Solo and Organa are now setting a definite route to the bays on the L level."

//Ah, ha! The trusting little heroes fell for it. Poor things, I hate to burst their bubble like this.//

"Very good Madine. Keep monitoring them, and have your troops ready." 

"Yes ma'am. Madine out." The com went dead. Mon Mothma let out a sigh and sunk back into her chair and felt her hands grip the armrests. It was hard, yes, to trick Solo and Organa and that Jedi so. However, such sacrifices had to be made for peace. Vader wouldn't live out the day. 

Luke was surprised how short the journey in the dark was. They found the end when Anakin didn't stop quickly enough and his saber point went through the wall. 

"Sith." 

While Anakin composed himself, Luke examined the basically bare walls and ceiling.

"How do we get out?" He asked as his green lightsaber illuminated the ceiling in a faint light. Anakin felt the walls and pulled open a nearly invisible key pad. The letters were almost illegible with dust.

"Its so weird," Anakin commented, " they put in new ones only a month ago."

He punched in a code. Almost silently, the door slide open. It opened onto a modestly sized Bay painted grey-blue. Coruscant rose huge and impressive out the bay doors, and several medium ships sat around with no one to drive them. Interestingly enough, a bunch of busy workers and droids were unloading a large freighter only 100 meters away. 

Anakin and Luke uncomfortably found themselves in plain view. 

"Sith."

"Lars, quick, behind those." 

Quickly as cats, the two Jedi leap out of the tunnel and sprinted along the wall. They finally dived behind some fuel tanks. Even with using the force to partly mask them, it had been a rather long dash. Thus, they anxiously peered out, hoping they hadn't been seen. 

A few workers glanced around. But nobody seemed to have noticed anything.

Anakin let out a happy sigh of relief. Luke, however, found their cover lacking. 

"Anakin, we're way too open. Anybody can see us from the Bay entrance." 

"So, let's make a dash for it. Which ship do you want? That Jashrish model looks pretty good. I wonder what year it is." 

Before Luke could say anything the most shocking things came walking into the Bay: Han Solo and Leia Organa. 

"What the son-of-a-Sith!" 

Yup. They were sort of far away, but that petite women and that guy walking with a swagger……only could be Han and Leia. 

Anakin turned to see a couple people walk in. 

"Is that women Leia? Isn't she supposed to be at Bay L22?" 

Luke was too confused to say anything. Why would Anakin lead him wrong? There wasn't any reason that he should. So, did Leia betray them……Luke slapped himself for even daring to think such a thing. But how did they end out at the same Bay? Luke felt a gentle prodding. He turned to see Anakin pointing to the sign engraved above the Bay entrance. "Docking Bay L22." 

"Of course," Luke murmured bitterly. 

"What?"

Luke turned to Anakin. "You knew the Bay numbers from almost 30 YEARS AGO!! Of course they've been changed with the wars and the emperor!"

They looked at each other and almost laughed with chagrin. Of all the bad things that could happen, of all the jokes the Force could pull on them, this had to be it. THE WORST COINCIDENCE THAT THE GALAXY HAD EVER SEEN! 

"Quick, let's go now while we have the chance." Anakin advised, already getting up. 

"Good idea." Luke leaped up, and the too of them sprinted across the Bay towards the nearest ship. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw Leia. She was running towards him. She was shaking her head and screaming his name. Luke slowed and stopped, and turned towards her. Belatedly, he cursed his selfishness. Leia needed her friends and family now, and off he goes, running away. He felt her fear and anger pumping out of her.

"Luke!" She said and finally reached him. So looked so angry but so glad in a weird way, "Luke, have you gone completely insane?" 

Han began to jog up to him. 

"Leia, I-" Luke began to say. 

Suddenly, he felt a rush of adrenaline from Anakin. Luke looked past Leia to see troopers pour into the Bay like murderous fire ants out to kill something. The hundreds of them came in recklessly, blasters zipping and buzzing into a deadly drone. Luke yanked Leia behind him and pulled out his lightsaber. With an echoing snap-hiss, two brilliant beams gleamed through the already rising smoke.  

**Wahahaha! Mon Mothma is a big evil person I know I know!!!!!! **

**But on the sane side I doubt I can churn out another chapter before May 9. Stupid AP History, stealing away whatever skeleton of a life I had. **

**REVIEWS MAKE ME FEEL WARM AND FUZZY! CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM OR ENCOURAGEMENT GLADLY ACCEPTED, BUT NOTHING ALONG THE LINES OF "YOUR STORY IS S***"**

**THANK YOU. (*shyly bows and timidly makes her way offstage*)**


	8. Han has a horrible day

**Hello! Thank you so much for all your reviews. You have no idea how great it is. Hey Imp, whatzup? Yeah, your right, Han would say a lot more descriptive four-letter words than "darn." But I'm keeping my innocent PG rating, maybe later I'll write one with a higher rating. Till then, just mentally replace "darn" with whatever word you want.  **

                        Anakin had been rushing towards the nearest ship when he detected a shift in Luke's presence. He turned to see a short woman running up to Luke, calling the Jedi's name. Anakin had begun backtracking to the duo. Then, over Luke's shoulder, he beheld a swarm of angry guards gush through bay door, blasters raining laser beams like a storm. 

            The two Jedi brandished their lightsaber and faced the oncoming army. Luke swept the unarmed Leia behind him, but only an idiot would try to deflect off a barrage of bolts. Dully, Anakin saw Luke and Leia sprint towards the bay wall-towards the nearest cover. Luke's lightsaber was a green blur as he tried to shield them both. The blaster smoke rose in an ugly cloud and the pungent burnt-plastic smell permeated the Bay.

            Anakin needed a ship, and he was going to _get _a ship, blasters or no blasters. Anakin pulled himself into a back flip, his robes _whooshing around him. He hit the floor in a roll, trying to move as fast as he could to the ship fifty meters away. Confused red blots whizzed passed him, but all were clear misses. Anakin had never moved so fast in his life. He didn't think about anything, not who his enemies were or what he wanted, just to travel fifty more meters without getting shot. Anakin jumped and twisted as two bolts came too close. He ran, his lightsaber flashing and humming and making that weird cracking noise in a tremendous blue blur. His hand brought his lightsaber in front of his face, were it absorbed a nasty laser. He found himself diving to the deck them jumping forward all in a part of a second. Anakin was more alert and aware of himself than he ever had been, but yet he was disconnected, like his mind was not commanding his movements. Reality became distorted. When he dove behind a ship's loading ramp, and he relaxed his body, his senses returned to reality. His spent muscles felt like sandbags hanging uselessly off him. His cells screamed and burned from lack of oxygen. Anakin nearly gagged upon the smell of burnt ozone.  _

            The young Jedi shut his eyes to the pain. But when he opened them he found he wasn't alone behind the ramp. Lying there was a very hurt and very unconscious man. 

            When the fight had started, Han found himself in a very bad place. He had been catching up with Leia, who had suddenly sprinted to her brother. Then, all of the sudden, he heard the clanging of boots behind him. Han turned to see about two dozen blaster muzzles pointed in his general direction. 

            In a heartbeat, Han had a weird flashback to that time on the Death Star, when he'd run into a hanger full of stormtroopers. But this was a little worse, seeing he was in the wide open and the nearest cover a ship ten meters away. 

            Han didn't draw his blaster. That would get him shot quicker than a gondarck. Besides, he didn't think they really wanted to shoot him. But when they opened fire, he realized how many bad shots there were in the Palace Guard. 

            Han hit the deck, silently cursing Skywalker's parentage. Han crawled towards the ship, thinking cynically that the Rebellion sure knew how to reward its heroes. 

            _Mon, I would hide in a nice, quiet hole if I were you. 'Cause when this blows over…_

The thought barely passed through his mind when Han felt blistering heat streak through his torso. Waves of gut wrenching pain coursed through his body, attacking nerves in places Han didn't know he had.  He tried to swallow the pain put it kept bubbling up and enveloping him like lava out a mountain. Squeezing his eyes against the pain, Han focused on finding cover. He dragged himself across the deck. _Five more, four more, three more…almost, almost_… Han yanked himself behind the ship's ramp. Groaning, he laid back in his sanctuary. Han checked at his wound and grimaced. Yup, a laser had skewered him. The bolt had gone diagonally through his left shoulder blade, and out his below his right collar bone. It was nasty, it was a miracle he was even breathing. 

            _They.__ Shot. __Me.__ T hose bastards shot me! Gentle blackness took him. _

            Anakin studied the man who shared his cover. _This must be the one that came with Leia_, Anakin thought,_.But he was in horrible shape. A blaster bolt had neatly gone through him, and his skin had taken on a frightening, pale tone. Anakin felt his Jedi-ness kick in, and he gently pressed the man's shoulder. Anakin concentrated; he focused his energy in the wounded man, channeling his strength into easing and healing. _

            _BINK!_ A blaster bolt shot over Anakin's head-uncomfortably close. Anakin's concentration was broken off and he refocused on the score of determined guards. They were getting closer, before long they would find him. Anakin didn't like that scenario. 

            _A ship, I've got to get on a ship. _The order raced around and around Anakin's head. The young Jedi looked frantically around. _Okay, I've got ships all around me. I just need to pick one. Now, Anakin, now! _

            But what about the man? Anakin had been ready to leap up the ramp, however, he saw him lying there near death. The guards weren't after him, they were after Anakin, and so the man should be fine. But at the back of his mind Anakin had a vision of him, just lying there, and after the smoke cleared and they found him it would be too late. Anakin, as carefully as he could, carefully began to lift the man.

            "I swore that I would become a Jedi. Powerful enough I could stop people from dying. I'm the Chosen One."

            The man made a strange, strained noise. Anakin picked him up, gathered his strength, and leapt up the ramp and into the ship.    

            The slight Skywalker twins easily slipped behind the small crate. The din and smoke of blaster bolts was defending, but Leia managed to yell over it.

                        "Luke, what were you thinking?! Releasing this man and bringing all of palace security down on your-_our-_heads?"

            Luke held his lightsaber, but he wasn't fighting as the guards weren't gunning for him. 

            "They were going to kill him, Leia. What did you expect me to do? Sit around and smile as they blew his head of? Anakin is just a kid, he's no Vader or Sith."

            Leia groaned, "I'm trying to be diplomatic about this. Yes, Anakin is just a kid and no Sith _right now. _But he remains a terrible danger. You told me yourself that Anakin falls to the Darkside, what's to prevent him from falling in our time?"

            Luke set his jaw, "I will prevent him."

            Leia knew it was useless to debate when Luke got like this. It was like trying to make Han memorize poetry…Han…

            "By the Force Han's still out there!" Leia screamed. She jumped up and peered around the corner. 

            "Leia, wait!" Luke joined his twin. 

            "I can't see him," Leia said anxiously, scanning the bay for Han despite the lazers, "I'm going out there." 

            Before Leia or Luke did anything else, the rumble of a ship's engines cut them off. 

            The blaster bolts suddenly decreased and stopped, as confused guards gaped at each other. Vader had gotten to a ship anyway, despite the flood of blaster bolts. 

            The captain screamed into his com, "Close the bay doors! Close the bay doors!" and the flabbergasted guards futilely fired at the fleeing ship. The huge ship rose above the thinning blaster smoke, like a creature rising from the dead. Its engine roared as it kicked in the drive, and shot towards the bay doors. 

            "No way he's getting out," murmured the captain. The bay doors, which were basically two mammoth pieces of metal and wires, slowly and deliberately began to shut. The small ship sped towards the doors, but it was closing to fast. At the last second, the ship twisted and squeezed through, its sides grating on metal. 

Then the doors slammed shut and the ship was gone.   


	9. even the smallest chapters can change th...

            The stars melted into long blue lines as the ship entered hyperspace. Anakin let out a sigh of relief. He was safe, for now. However, the man he'd saved lay senseless on the cabin floor. Anakin, until now, hadn't a second to tend to him. Really, the Jedi had hardly time enough to breathe, let alone heal a man from a blaster burn.

            He left the pilot's seat and leaned over the man. Gently Anakin pressed the man's temples and felt the life throb inside him. Ah, he would be all right. The Jedi focused to prepare the flow of healing-energy.  

            That was when a funny thing occurred; Anakin strained. The Force had never been so difficult in arising, so slow and sluggish and difficult in commanding. Panic began to rise, yet Anakin furiously drove it away and ordered himself to calmness. The calmness never came. 

            _Anakin, Anakin, you can do this. You've done it before you can do it again. _

            Anakin again wrestled with the Force, trying to channel it into the man and heal him. Frustration rose. His eyes went shut and more drops of sweat formed on his brow. He had to do this. 

            He felt the life of the man buzzing softly. It was like a flame being blown in the wind. Desperately Anakin sought to reach and pump healing strength into it. The task was swimming though murky mud. Flailing, _failing.  _

            Anakin grasped the man's shoulder. 

            "I swear you won't die,' he grated between clenched teeth. His voice strained with the effort, "I _swear _I won't let you die!" 

            Anakin grabbed at the tendril of the Force as it swept around him like smoke. With a jolt of elation he knew he had caught it. He heedlessly threw it at the man, thrashing him with healing strength.

            _DING DING DING _

            Something chimed. Anakin's mind blinked like a switch. He stupidly turned to look at the controls. Obviously, they were coming out of hyperspace; that was no surprise. But why so soon? Anakin had programmed the ship to drop back into real space in three hours, not three minuets. 

            Before he stood Anakin checked the man again. His chest rose and fell with gentle, deep breaths. From his wry face all signs of strain had vanished. With a long sigh of relief Anakin found his feet. So that man was would live; Anakin was satisfied.

            He turned towards the controls. At least, he was satisfied the man was safe, but what the heck had happened to the ship? Perhaps some new mechanism had been invented and Anakin simply didn't know about it…

            Out of the corner of his eye the Jedi spied the chrono. 

            "That is so strange," he murmured out loud, unable to contain his puzzlement. The ship had, in fact, dropped into real space on schedule. Anakin was the one out of the loop. He'd been hovering over that man, fighting with the stoic Force, for _three hours. _

Whoa.

 No wonder his knees hurt so much. 

            Exhausted, Anakin slumped back into the chair. The situation perplexed him badly. The swift passing of time was nothing, it had often happened before while meditating with Obi-Wan. 

            But the Force had resisted his touch! That had never happened before, not to him or Ben or any other Jedi he could think of. Anakin started out the front portal, simply churning with thoughts. Unconsciously, his hand reached down deep into his pocket. Anakin felt it clasp a small, plain ring. A wedding ring. He pulled it out and clasped it like a last line to life. 

            Anakin knew, in a way, that it _was _a last line to life. He had summoned the Force to aid him, a gesture that had been engrained into his psyche even from slavery. And the Force had rejected Anakin. 

            Mon Mothma meditated on the day's events as she reclined on her sofa. Luke Skywalker was now being held under house arrest, a fate which princess Leia had protested loudly but Luke accepted honorably enough. It was so much like that Jedi, to assume that he could do whatever he wanted and receive his punishment calmly. It was simply maddening. Then, Leia had insisted that the fleet to roused to rescue Han. No mention of apprehending Darth Vader, but just saving Han. Again, so maddeningly typical. Mon informed her that it would be impossible as they did not catch the ship's hyper-space jump trajectory. 

            "We will alert our people around the Republic," Mon had assured Leia, "and we will stay prepared for when Vader makes his reappearance." 

            This was only partly true. Well, Mon admitted to herself, it wasn't very true at all. The ship's jump trajectory had been caught. The naïve renegade was heading straight into Imperial space. Moff Inkenly's sector of Imperial Space, to be precise. From one perspective, that little, quiet, unnoticed message to Inkenly was a foolish error. Why gain publicity for losing Darth Vader and letting him run off to the Empire? But from another perspective, the message was a masterstroke. Seriously, would a Moff really want to have Vader re-appear, take over the Navy, take over the Empire, and take up his reign of terror from where he had left off? Somehow, Mon doubted it. And she smiled.     

 **MWAHAHAHAHA!!! You've reached chapter nine!! You must have something to say! **


	10. Shadows of the Empiresomething like it

**Ha! Ha! I'm not dead!! I've just been to the Realm of Pirates and back. Ah, smell the sweet air of SW. **

There were a couple guards hovering outside Luke's door. They shifted their blasters as footsteps approached.

"It's me," said Leia as she came into sight, "Mon Mothma has given me authorization to see him." 

Leia waved a holocard before the guards' faces.  They relaxed and allowed Leia to pass. Amazing the power a random holocard from her wallet could have. The doors swished open to reveal Luke, decked out in black, sitting on the floor crossed-legged in mediation (but of course). His eyes fluttered open when his sister walked in.  

"Leia," he said calmly. The door closed and locked behind her. 

Luke then rose and offered her a seat. 

"I'm surprised they let you see me," Luke began, rather cheerfully for one in trouble with the most powerful individuals in the galaxy. 

Leia shook her head, "They didn't. I bluffed authorization."

Luke smiled quietly.

 Leia didn't take the seat offered to her, but instead sat on the floor next to her twin. She locked her brown eyes with his blue ones. 

"Han's gone, Luke."

He nodded sadly, "I know. I felt it. But he's alive, Leia. And this is going to sound crazy to you but I know that he's safe. Safer than he would be here at any rate."

Leia grabbed his hand, "'_Sound_ crazy?' Luke, don't you know what's happening? Don't you know what they can do to you? For all your Jedi talent why don't you have a shred of common sense, why?! You're being charged with high treason. High. Treason. And we all know what that's punishable by." 

Leia stood up and paced about the room, "I've been fighting for you, Luke. Trying to get you out of this mess you've fallen into. But I can't figure out whose side you're on."

Luke stood up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Leia, please listen-"

She whirled on him, "No, I'm not done yet, Skywalker! It took me eighteen years to find my brother, and I don't want to lose him!" 

Her face grew very weary.  

"And now, for the second time, Vader's taken Han away from me."

She faced him bitterly, angrily. Luke's eyes flickered around before they met hers.

He sent a soothing tendril of the Force, "Leia, I'm sorry to have hurt you." 

Exhausted, Leia crumbled onto the sofa and felt the tears fall down her cheeks. Luke took a seat next to her. 

"I wish that you and Han could've stayed out of this mess. But I'm not sorry for helping Anakin escape. No, he's not Darth Vader, Leia. If you could've talked to him…he's just a kid."

Leia sighed, "How did I know you'd say that."

They were silent for a time. 

_You had better go, we're being bugged._Luke said in Leia's head. 

_??????????_She answered

_Mothma_  

_Mon's trying to help you out, Luke._

_No, I don't think so. I sense a thread in her that I haven't sensed before._

"Luke, I don't like where this is going," Leia said, up starting. 

"I don't like it either, to be honest."

Leia smiled; something she hadn't done in a while. 

"Luke, when are you not honest?" 

Her brother gave a bashful half-grin. 

Anakin sat in the main compartment of the ship, staring out into space and wondering where he was, when he was, and why he couldn't feel the Force. Suddenly exhausted, he cupped his chin in his hand and gently, quietly, began to close his eyes-

-when a blaster clicked behind him. 

Anakin whirled to face the black little hole of the muzzle. He saw that man holding it. Hey, he'd saved that guy's life! And what thanks does he get? 

"I see you're feeling better," Anakin growled. 

Han scolded, then groaned and winced, "Better than ever. Ok, kid, start plugging numbers into the navicomputer. We're going back."

Anakin folded his arms across his chest, "Look, I'm not going _anywhere. _Except back to my ship."

Han clutched his chest, "I'm not out here for a little joyride, okay? So we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Anakin growled, "I'm not gonna fight you, Han. After trying so hard to heal you, I'm not gonna fight you."

The man peered at the anachronistic Jedi, "Luke told you my name, huh?"

"Luke Lars mentioned it, so I put two-and-two together."

Han stilled watched warily, but he began to lower his blaster. 

"Now that you brought that up, what else did Luke tell you?"

Anakin grasped his blonde hair and explained with a great deal of pride and dignity, "He told me that I'm in the future. And my ship is being held in storage on the other side of Coruscant. I need your help. I need to get to my ship."

Han laughed, "You're ship's a big pile a metal right now. Heck, it was a big pile of metal when those tourists found you."

Anakin sprang to his feet, "But I saved your-"

"Life?  Well, see, you nearly got me killed, too. So we're even. Except you still hafta take me back to Coruscant." 

Anakin growled at Han, "I'm not-"

"Now listen, kid," Han held up his hands complacently. 

Anakin took a few breaths and tried to relax. Arguing wasn't going to help. 

"Now listen,' Han repeated, "Your ship is scrap.  But the stuff inside your ship was removed and taken back to the Imperial Palace, for examination."

Anakin furrowed his brow, "The Imperial Palace is where we just came from."

"Exactly."

"So we hafta go back to Coruscant anyways."

"Yup."

"So I can get to my belongings and possibly get back to my time."

Han beamed, "Took the words right outta my mouth."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Han shrugged, "Beats me. You're the Jedi."

_Ah yes. I'm the Jedi. A Jedi who cannot muster the Force._

"I'll take you back, _if _you help me get to my ship's cargo," Anakin bargained. 

"Hey, I thought you wanted to get back to Coruscant anyway. Back to your precious scrap-I mean ship," Han winced again and clutched his shoulder, "and, this must be the fifth time, there's no way in Hell I'm gonna help you."    

Anakin sighed loudly. He turned away from the man to stare out the front portal as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Ok, so, he couldn't draw on the Force; so he couldn't use the Force to persuade Han. Anakin moaned internally. It was so frustrating to be so helpless. Losing the Force was like losing a hand…or both hands…

Han gestured to the cockpit, "Fine then. Been a pleasure talking to you but I think I'll just pilot this myself, all right? I have a job and a girlfriend I need to get back to."

Something in the tone of Han's voice drove what little patience Anakin possessed to the edge. He heaved himself to his feet and yelled after Han, "I want you to know that I have a very sick _wife _I need to get back to. A sick, _pregnant _wife I need to get back to so if you're not gonna help me get back to my ship you can go to hell for all I care."

There would have been some appliances flying around the room if Anakin could touch the Force.  

Han blinked and started stupidly at Anakin and tried to process this new information. 

"Wife?" The blaster lowered. 

"Yeah," Anakin relaxed.

"Pregnant?" The muzzle pointed towards the deck.

"Yes," Anakin said calmly enough and blew out his temper.   

Han, for one rare moment of his life, was dumbstruck. 

"Its like this," Anakin sat down, both ashamed and defensive, "my ship, what's inside it, is the key to sending me back to my time and to saving my wife and…our child, I guess."

Han took a few steps over to the kid. Really, Anakin _was_ just a scared kid, albeit an arrogant Jedi and future Darth Vader. 

"How's that?" Han asked gruff but gentle. 

Anakin locked eyes with Han. "I took the Laris from the Temple—you can call a Laris a Force-enhancer. I _could_ use it to increase my strength and to heal her. In the ship, on the way to her, I kept the Laris on my lap and all I thought as I flew was 'faster, faster, faster.'"

He stood up and grinned sardonically. 

"I guess I went too much too fast. There was a brilliant flash and then I woke up in the future."

Han blew out a puff of air, "Anakin…" 

He couldn't settle on what to say.  

There wasn't much you could. 

A rapid, violent jolt shook the ship and shattered the silence. 

Like stone carvings sprung to life, Han and Anakin dashed to the cockpit and dove at the pilot's seat. They fought over the controls.

"I can fly this crate with my eyes closed, Skywal--"

Anakin shoved him away, "That burned shoulder won't take it."

Another blast rocked the ship. 

"Turn us around, they're behind us!" Han barked. 

Anakin harnessed the controls, and the ship whipped into an about face and twisted out of another bolt's range. It grazed the top of the ship. Han grasped the seat restraints and gaped at their attackers. His mouth dropped open in dismay. 

"Who are they?" Anakin demanded and took the ship into a barrel roll. 

Han sighed. How had they found them? How'd they get here so soon? 

"It's the Empire."

Anakin fought through a drive of beastly, swarming TIE-fighters. 

"Who the Sith," Anakin gritted through his teeth, "is the Empire?"

Han ignored this irony when a worse one loomed before them. 

"This ship has no gun turrents, does it?" 

A stronger blast, straight from the Star Destroyer, sent the feeble little craft whirling. 

 **Do blasters "click?" I dunno. Anyway, I would like give a big hug and a lot of gratitude to those who've been reading this for over a year now. You people make fanfiction.net shine.  **

**And don't worry, people, we are nearing the final stretch. **


	11. Han's Horrible Day Gets Even Worse

The ship bounced around the vacuum of space much like a ping-pong ball whirling over a table. Little TIEs swarmed like flies; pestered the larger ship. Then, the laser fire from the Star Destroyer sent the ship spinning. 

Han valiantly tried getting numbers from the navi-computer. Teeth grinding, he spat, "Of all the ships—((_crash!_))—in that hanger bay you managed to get—((_Slam!_))— the one without gun turrets. (( _shudder__!_)) Without. Guns." 

A beam glanced off the ship. Han moaned at the pain in his shoulder and, when he could manage it, stared pointedly at Anakin. The kid was steering the ship for all it was worth. Which was not much. 

"We can fight over that later. Just get me those results from the jump, ok?" 

Anakin sent the ship into a barrow roll. It couldn't handle the pressure, shuddered violently, and fell out of it. Luckily, little TIEs overshot the ship. A blast from the Destroyer went wide. It fried a TIE, though, and it exploded into brilliant, wretched flames. Anakin turned hard port to avoid the fireball. He slammed into another TIE, and the ship lurched and sputtered and the TIE spun out into oblivion. With every little jolt, Han's shoulder screamed out in acute agony. He'd been in plenty of space skirmishes before; but never in one where he's been so helpless. 

"I think I got it…" Han tried to read the monitor despite the flashes of light and motion and screaming pain, "I got it! Punch it, now!" 

Anakin reached over to hit the red button marked hyperdrive—

—at the same instant a thick laser bolt hit the ship dead on. 

Everything happened at once. The lights blew out, the ship spun out, the gravics failed. Han felt himself thrown from his seat and smashed into the bulwarks. He remained conscious just long enough to vomit in zero gravity. 

            He came to, slowly and painfully, after but a few long minuets. The blue emergency lights were on. Han, dazed, idly wondered why they used blue, not red, for emergency lights. A crushing headache brought back some more of his sense. Han blinked, breathed, and looked around. He was floating in zero gravity; not far from him Anakin hovered, awake and alert. The kid held a deactivated lightsaber in his hand. 

"They've got us in a tractor beam," Anakin said simply. 

Oh, yeah. That's why the ship was finally so still. 

Han looked out the viewport. The hanger of the Star Destroyer loomed right outside; like the mouth of some carnivorous beast. They were close to it; Han could even see those familiar white storm-troopers assembled in the bay. 

He grabbed his floating blaster. 

"Lets see…" Han counted, "looks like there's about six hundred of them. So that's three hundred for me and three hundred for you. You up to it?"

Anakin gave him a look, "Yeah, Han. Piece of cake."

Han tried to steady himself by placing his harm against the bulkhead. Ouch. Bad idea. He glared at his shot-up side. 

"Either way," he growled, resolved, "they're not getting me without a fight."

            The twosome were silent as the ship was sucked into the bay. Gravity came back on upon entering. They fell from the air like dolls suddenly dropped, which may have been funny if it wasn't so dangerous. 

            They waited, away from the cockpit and by the entrance ramp. Its hatch was forced open from the outside and made a "_schluch_" sound as the new air rushed in. Anakin and Han pressed themselves against the sides of the portal; lightsaber at the ready, blaster set to KILL. Outside the door lay the huge bay with its shiny metal floors. It was frighteningly quiet. 

            Anakin and Han waited for a geological age. No trigger-happy trooper came stalking up the ramp. And the ship didn't suddenly explode. Confused, Anakin slowly inched his head closer to the door. He looked out. Paused. Quickly pulled back inside. 

"What is it?"  Han mouthed. 

Anakin shook his head, stumped stupid, "Those white armored soldiers are standing at attention; like they're waiting to greet us or something."

Han's skin prickled. _I've got a bad feeling about this…_

Anakin let out a low breath and smiled cockily. Then, it one moment, he turned and strode down the ramp and into the view of the Imperials. His lightsaber hung, completely useless, on his belt. Han's stomach turned and he blanched; _I know where this is going_. Blowing out air like the Jedi had just done, Han marched down the ramp, and opened his mouth to call to Anakin. 

"Welcome back, Lord Vader!"

A Moff beat him. 

Han froze halfway down the ramp and his heart literally skipped a beat. A characteristically gaunt Moff stood before Anakin and repeated his greeting. 

"We've sorely needed you, milord."

Anakin tilted his head, "Wha-? I think you're confusing me with someone else."

The Moff smiled like a father receiving home his prodigal son. 

"No," he said warmly, "No, my Lord Vader. Actually,_ you_ are confusing yourself with someone else." 

  **No review. No new chapter. ** 


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